In COVID-19 hangover, as more around world get vaccinated, fewer give blood
Seoul, South KoreaReuters From Seoul to Paris, and Moscow to Bangkok, concerned citizens are lining up for vaccine shots as COVID-19 case numbers swell. That may ease pressure on stretched hospitals around the world, but with it comes a hangover – a severe shortage of blood donors. A number of countries don’t allow people who […]
Greece completes border wall extension to deter potential Afghan migrants
Athens, GreeceReuters Greece said on Friday it had completed a 40 kilometre fence on its border with Turkey and a new surveillance system was in place to stop possible asylum seekers from trying to reach Europe following the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan. Events in Afghanistan have fuelled fears in the European Union of a repeat […]
Bangladesh factories open as economic worries trump virus
Dhaka, BangladeshAP Bangladesh is suffering through its deadliest surge of the pandemic, but you wouldn’t know it looking at its factories, markets and malls. The South Asian nation home to 165 million people has done away with most virus restrictions, allowing businesses to reopen to enthusiastic crowds following weeks of strict measures put in place […]
China to step up tree planting campaign to help reach net zero
Shanghai, ChinaReuters China will plant 36,000 square kilometres of new forest a year – more than the total area of Belgium – from this year to 2025 as it bids to combat climate change and better protect natural habitats, a senior forestry official said on Friday. Tree planting has been at the heart of China’s […]
Encouraging new shoots: Women church planters hope to give Christianity a fresh start
If evangelical churches in the US want to reach people with the Gospel, they need the skills of women and men of all backgrounds, say US leaders like Rev Liz Rios. BOB SMIETANA, of Religion News Service, reports…
Essay: The Afghanistan I know
PATRICK THOMAS, of World Vision Australia, reflects on the progress made in enabling women to participate in community decision-making and his hopes the hard-earned gains in the nation can continue to be built upon…
Damaged roads hinder aid reaching remote areas of Haiti quake zone
Marceline, HaitiReuters Damaged or impassable roads hindered efforts on Friday to deliver aid to remote parts of Haiti devastated by an earthquake last weekend that killed more than 2,000 people as hopes of finding those still missing faded. Landslides and cracks in the tarmac on the main inland mountain road between the southwestern city of […]
Biden again defends US pullout, West struggles with Afghanistan chaos; Franklin Graham calls for day of prayer
Kabul, Afghanistan/Washington DC, USReuters Western nations struggled on Friday to ramp up the pace ofevacuations from Afghanistan after reports of Taliban reprisals, as US President Joe Biden insisted that the chaos following the American troop withdrawal had not diminished Washington’s international credibility. Facing a torrent of criticism at home and abroad for his handling of the […]